Dr Merck's stitch method A closed minimally invasive procedure for correction of protruding ears

摘要

Dr Merck's stitch method is the first operative method for the correction of protruding ears which is really minimally invasive and closed, as the ear is no longer opened by incisions and tunnelled at any point, and the cartilage is no longer scored. The slight traumatization merely comprises tiny retroauricular stab incisions and needle stitch points through the skin and the cartilage. The name stitch method was derived from the fact that the stitches are the only shaping and stabilizing elements of the ears. Furthermore, due to a special suture technique Dr Merck's stitch method is the first minimally invasive method with which all ears and also earlobes can be corrected. This was not possible with previous, less invasive methods. A large cavum conchae is reduced in size, only by the medialization of the anthelix whereby rotation and excision of cartilage are no longer necessary. Dispensing with work on the cartilage does not result in the ears protruding more frequently than with the open, less invasive methods previously used. The relapse quota is even lower, which is attributable to the improvement in the suture technique. The number of possible complications compared with the established methods has been considerably reduced and severe, irreversible complications no longer occur. Formations of edges, indentations and scars along the anthelix belong completely to the past. Aesthetic, round anthelix folds with a natural appearance always result. The desire to have protruding ears corrected has considerably increased as a result of the low postoperative impairments and numerous other advantages are demonstrated in this publication. Based on the documented results of this method on more than 7,000 ears, the stitch method has been shown to be an alternative to all open and closed methods previously used.